Tardy or in need of the Tardis

(Arggh stupid faecesbook, I'm havin to retype this for the third time because of you)

Sorry for being so tardy. It's Sunday afternoon, and I'm only just getting around to Thursdays events.

After waking up early and doing some pre-study and blogging, we eventually got ready and went to Tully's for coffee and breakfast. Tully's is another of their coffee franchise chains, but they do a good cup. You know they will when the auto doors open up and the smell that greets you is akin to a proper cafe. They have an espresso machine too, so rather than a drip filter affair or a servo-style automated machine, you had people that actually knew how to make a coffee. Dean ordered a double-shot espresso, and rather than being watery or over-done and burnt, it was just right. I ordered a grande mocha and it was better than a Zaraffa's one because it was overly sweet. I also ordered chilli cheese hotdog. The Japanese seem to boil their sausages similar to the germans, so even though it had cheese on it, it wasn't a greasy affair. The chilli con carne on top was nice as well, though I am used to more beans. 3=

After filling up our caffeine supplies for the next couple of hours we headed back towards Nihombashi station. After getting an all-day ticket, we jumped on a subway to Shibuya. Shibuya is an interesting sort of area. If you've seen those pictures of huge TV screens towering over a crowded intersection, then you probably know where I'm talking about. It's not quite the whole story though, because with a mass of underground metro lines and a couple of above ground lines, underneath the road can be more interesting. After getting off, we did a couple of turns and ended up in the Tokyu buildings basement. Dean and I had been here last year to pick up a cheap feed on our way to go see car stuff, but it wasn't the food court we were interested in, just a refresh break.

We headed up to street level, and crossed over at the famous intersection with the Shibuya 109 building in view. We were heading to Uniqlo to pick up some cheap meeting shirts, but when we got around the back of the Parco building (its down a little alleyway) we found that it didn't open til 11am. That was ok, we were going to show Conrad a few of the places we have seen in our last 2 expeditions in Tokyo. We headed for the funky boot shop underneath Denny's just up the road, but alas they too weren't open. So up the street a bit more, and we decided to stop for a drink at Freshness burger. It's another one of their burger chains, and it was a pity I wasn't hungry after the hot dog, because I've never got the chance to try them yet. But after a freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, we went for a wander down the side streets.

As with most big cities, you have you megalithic department stores and the fashion labels that have their own shops. But it's often times down the little side alleys that you fine the real boutique stuff, with lot's of one off designs, funky clothing and different shop fronts. We stopped at a hat shop, and after having a quick look around, we moved onto a couple of others. The shops had some very smart looking clothes, but a lot was way out of a travellers price range. We headed back towards the boot shop for quick look around, before heading down the road to Uniqlo.

I would personally love if Uniqlo came to Australia. I like a company that seems to prefer natural fibres and doesn't overcharge for them. All the business shirts I looked at were 100% cotton and Dean found a few pure wool blazers and stuff. The only thing I don't like about Uniqlo is the sizing... It's made for small japanese people (I'm actually slightly over average height here) and ones with no meat on them at that. I'll admit I'm a little porky around the midriff, but it was actually the shoulders and arms that didn't fit properly, so I had to got for an XL size. But I suppose it's just me being slightly vain, because I didn't like it when I had to go from an M to a L. I ended up getting 4 shirts though for the princely sum of 9880Y. 4 pure cotton business shirts for about $120 is pretty much unheard of in Aus. Dean and Conrad also bought stuff, but I'll leave it to them to explain their purchases.

Dean was getting a little annoyed though, because he was out of money and had to get more out. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but it seems whenever you actually need them, there is never a 7-11 or 7-11 ATM around. We found one eventually, but only after walking a bit.

Next, we were heading to the Lomography gallery and store. It was the only place really, that Conrad had specifically requested to see, so we had to make sure we went there. We got off at the right station, and then after finding an unsecured wifi, we checked our directions and were off. We found it without too much effort, but when you are with people that like specifics, saying "I'm pretty sure" or "I think we go this way" tends to put them on edge.

The Lomo gallery did give us a chance to sit down while Conrad pottered around, and Mum was cursing that she didn't wear her Apres boots. She was getting sore feet and with a lot of walking still to be done, the foot fatigue would only be getting worse.

We walked back towards the station, but rather than get on another subway, we kept going straight past it. This was because we were on Omote-Sando Dori (or Omote-Sando Ave). It leads from Omote-Sando Hills where there is a lot of high end fashion labels like Dior, Chanel, D&G etc, to Harajuku. Yep, we were heading back to our familiar stomping ground. We knew where a 7-11 was, so we headed there first.

It was now after 1, so we were getting a little ravenous. We stopped off at a pizza place in Takeshita dori, and after getting a wood-fired pizza (Whitney's and my salami pizzas were ok, Dean's and Conrad's teriyaki chicken could have done without the nori), we were fueled up again, though not necessarily rearing to go. Dean wanted to check out UT next, so we headed there, bought some more shirts in a can and headed back to Takeshita dori.

Whitney in particular loves Takeshita dori for the clothes. This was the street that started a lot of fashion trends including dekora, goth-loli and others, but with me being the conservative-dressing person that I am, couldn't wear half the stuff that's sold, let alone fit into it. We parted ways, with Mum and Whitney heading to the girls clothe shops, while Dean and I took Conrad to Jeans Mate, where we had been on our previous trips. They bought stuff, I didn't. But we were getting tired, so we headed into a cafe and got a beer while we waited for Mum and Whitney to finish looking. By about 6.30 we were spent, so we walked around the corner from Takeshita Dori to go take a subway. Then we stumbled on Uniqlo Shoes. Like I mentioned above, they seem to prefer natural goods, and a lot of the boots and shoes (mostly for women) are leather, and at a good price as well.

A few more minutes in there before I checked my phone app for the easiest way back to the hotel. Our feet were sore, and mum wanted to change shoes. The way that required the least amount of walking, involved going back down the cool looking Omote-Sando dori, past all the designer stores to Omote-Sando station. We could have gotten on at a closer station, but it was as close at the other end...

We headed back to our hotel, before we did the usual "What do you feel like eating?", "I dunno" routine. We ended up just walking down the street from the hotel before we stumbled upon a chinese restaurant. I'm not always the biggest fan of chinese food because often the kitchens are dirty and there is too much MSG, but Mum said the kitchen was clean, so that was half the fear allayed. Problem was the menu was in Chinese with japanese subtitles. Now I'm getting better at reading kanji after a couple of trips, but I couldn't make head nor tails of this menu and neither could Whitney. So we ordered a banquet for 2000Y per head. It was a pretty good feed with the food being good quality and fresh, but there were somethings you were best not asking what they were. But we were full and after a stop at the Lawson's Station next to it, we were back at the hotel for ice cream and cognac. That's about when I stopped caring.. We had a semi-late night, but I was already asleep in my mind.